Timelines
by WynterSky
Summary: Itachi is attacked and blinded before he recieves the orders for the Uchiha Massacre. Shisui is ordered to take his place, with Itachi trying to stop him. And there are other forces at work in Konoha...
1. Chapter 1: Hide and Go Seek

[A/N: Just so you know, the angst-bucket got dumped pretty early in this story, and it splashed _everywhere _(seriously, there's a puddle by my chair. I should go get the mop...). Oh, and Itachi and Sasuke are twelve and seven here.]

Chapter 1: Hide-and-go-Seek

"Nii-san, come train with me!"

Itachi reached down to brush his little brother away, without looking away from the ANBU report he was working on. Hyuuga Kotone had been injured while on a mission with his team, and he would have to choose his wording very carefully to placate the rest of her clan. "Not now, Otouto-chan, I'm busy."

Sasuke refused to relenquish his hold on Itachi's shirt. "But Nii-san, you're always busy," he protested.

Itachi tried again. "I'll train with you tomorrow."

"And you always say that, too."

"Look, Sasuke, I—" Itachi sighed. "I'll train with you as soon as I'm done with this report, okay?"

"It'll be too dark by then," Sasuke said despondently, slowly letting go as he turned away. "I'll go train by myself."

As the door closed behind Sasuke, Itachi tried to continue work on the report. However, after crossing out the same sentence three times, he gave up and leaned back to rest his eyes. His gaze lit upon a leather holster of kunai—neatly sorted according to the official handbook's specifications—but he firmly told himself that he had far too many things to do to be distracted. Returning to the report, he struggled through the problem sentence after crossing it out twice more, then found himself stuck on the next one.

Itachi hated all the polite code-words he had to use for things like this. All they did was muddy up the issue and prevent it from being properly resolved. After tortuously making his way through another half-paragraph, he decided that anything would be better than this, even the inevitable reprimand for turning in a late report. Kakashi was always reprimanded for that, but it didn't seem to faze him. Then again, he hadn't inherited the perfectionism that usually went with the Sharingan.

The holster of kunai continued to tempt him. Finally giving in, Itachi stood and picked it up. While battling the report had seemed to take hours, he was fairly sure it had only been a short time since Sasuke left. It wouldn't take long to catch up with him.

...

A few minutes later, Itachi was perched in a tree overlooking Sasuke's favored training spot—an out-of-the-way field outside the village proper. While Itachi knew that their father didn't like it when Sasuke left the village, he made sure he never found out about this.

Sasuke was standing at one end of the field, angrily hurling shuriken at the poor, defenseless targets at the other end. Clearly he had not taken Itachi's rejection well.

"You're standing too stiffly," Itachi said critically, dropping silently to the ground behind Sasuke. Startled, Sasuke whirled around and nearly threw a shuriken at Itachi before recognizing him. "Nii-san!" he shouted, dropping the weapon and running up to hug his brother. "You came after all!"

Itachi laughed and let Sasuke's play-tackle bring him to the ground. "I figured you could use all the help you could get," he teased, poking Sasuke's forehead.

"I'm getting lots better," Sasuke retorted, swatting Itachi's hand away with false anger. "Here, I'll show you!" He bounced up and retrieved his discarded handful of shuriken. Carefully readying three between his fingers, he concentrated intensely as he brought his hand back and whipped it forward in a clean throw, embedding the shuriken in three adjacent targets. None of them were centered, and indeed one was barely clinging to the edge, but it was an excellent performance for a seven-year-old who had only started in the Ninja Academy a little more than a week before.

"How was that?" Sasuke asked eagerly as he darted back to where Itachi was still laying in the grass. "Shisui-san showed it to me."

"That's very good," Itachi assured him, reaching out to fluff up Sasuke's hair. "I have a better idea for training, though. Have they taught you how to mask your chakra yet?"

Sasuke nodded. "Iruka says I'm the best in the class at it. Of the boys, anyway."

While a little curious as to which of the girls in Sasuke's class was better than he was, Itachi didn't ask. "Well, that's what we're going to work on," he said. "You mask your chakra and find somewhere to hide, and then I'll see if I can find you."

"So you want to play Hide-and-Go-Seek," Sasuke clarified.

"Well, yes, but _ninja training_ Hide-and-Go-Seek."

Sasuke laughed as he scrambled to his feet. "Make sure you count to fifty!" he shouted before running off.

...

"Forty-seven...forty-eight...forty-nine...fifty!"

Itachi opened his eyes and looked around, not that it did any good. Sasuke had hidden himself expertly. Activating the Sharingan, Itachi began to track his brother's chakra signature. The trail was very faint; if they had not been related, Itachi probably would not have been able to follow it.

Sasuke had headed circuitously through a few adjacent training fields, and Itachi was beginning to suspect he was trying to get back into the village. Climbing into one of the trees, Itachi looked around. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, and Itachi was about to drop to the ground and continue tracking when Sasuke's chakra signature suddenly dropped off sharply before stopping entirely.

Instantly, Itachi was on the alert. He had been on enough ANBU missions to be able to tell immediately when something had gone wrong, and this was it. Hopefully, Sasuke had only fallen and knocked himself out; Itachi couldn't bring himself to think about the other possibilities. There were so many places where a small child could have an accident...

Their game was working against him now. Although Itachi had been able to find a general direction before losing Sasuke's chakra, he couldn't tell how far he had gone, and there was always the chance that he had been carried off. After the attempted kidnapping of Hyuuga Hinata three years before, all the clans with bloodline limits had been even more protective of their children. Father would be furious to find out Itachi had taken Sasuke outside the village, let alone lost him there.

Just as abruptly as it had vanished, Sasuke's chakra reappeared in full. Sighing with relief, Itachi quickly had a fix on it. There was a strange edge to it, however, perhaps as if Sasuke had been injured? Itachi hurried to where the chakra was coming from.

He found himself in one of the more remote training fields. This one actually had not been used in some time, and the tall grass and rampant weeds hid many stray weapons. "Sasuke?" Itachi called quietly. There was no answer, and Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Frowning, Itachi looked around again. "Sasuke!"

A twig snapped behind him, and Itachi whirled around. "There you—"

_Blood and fire burning bright under a red moon screams and blood raining on tattered rice paper windows..._

—Itachi gasped in dismay as the images seared into his brain. A small part of him was saying that they weren't real, they _couldn't_ be, but they were just as vivid as his own memories had ever been.—

_...flight was useless angel of death hunting through the streets why was his sword covered in blood stains on tatami mats Mother Father what was happening where was Sasuke Sasuke don't come in NO!_

Itachi screamed.

It seemed to be hours before the horrible genjutsu dissipated and he found himself back in the training field again, gasping for breath in the cold evening air. His back was pressed against a tree, and when he tried to move he found that something was coiled around him, hissing when he pushed against it. A snake summons; but Orochimaru had defected years ago, and he was the only person Itachi knew of who had used snake summons.

"It's hard to do twice, isn't it?"

Itachi tried to get a look at his assailant but could see nothing but the red swirls of the Sharingan. "What have you done with my brother?" he demanded. Sasuke's chakra was still gone, and if someone had been able to defeat an elite ANBU that easily, who knew what he could have done to an Academy student?

"You say that as if you care," the other scoffed. "You should be more worried about yourself rather than Sasuke." While Itachi still couldn't see clearly, he could discern the dark sillhouette pacing back and forth in front of him. There was possibly something familiar about his stance, but Itachi couldn't quite place it.

"I don't understand," Itachi said. If he could get his attacker talking he might be able to learn more.

"Really?" the other laughed scornfully. "Well, perhaps you wouldn't...not yet."

Itachi could see the other more distinctly now, but it didn't help much. It was no one he recognized, and he already knew he was an Uchiha, or at least had the Sharingan. He was older than Itachi; perhaps Shisui's age. "Who are you? What do you _want_?" The snakes began to coil tighter around him, and he gasped as the breath was forced out of his lungs.

The other seized Itachi's hair roughly, and he winced as his head was slammed back against the tree. "I _did_ want to kill you," the other said quietly, with a smile that was somehow wrong, "but I think I've had a better idea."

Itachi just caught a glimpse of the last rays of the setting sun glinting off a kunai, then everything fell into blood and darkness and screams that seemed to come from far, far away.

...

At first, Itachi didn't realize he was awake. Everything was still dark.

However, the air smelt bitingly of medicine and disinfectant, and there was something beeping steadily and mechanically off to his right.

The hospital. The mission must have gone wrong if he'd ended up in the hospital. But he hadn't been on a mission...had he?

Sasuke. Training with Sasuke. Losing him, the abandoned training field, the snakes, _blood and fire and_ the other...the memories slowly sorted themselves out.

He considered trying to move, but the mere thought of it hurt. His entire body ached horribly, and there was a burning pain behind his bandaged eyes. What was most disturbing, however, was that he couldn't feel any of his chakra at all.

Footsteps echoed in the hall, nearing his room. The door creaked, and he could hear the voices belonging to the footsteps, although his aching head had trouble sorting out the words. One of the two voices he thought he recognized as a nurse he had encountered a few times. The other was his father.

Itachi couldn't imagine explaining what had happened to Sasuke, so he hoped his father wouldn't be able to tell he was awake. The beeping of the machine next to his bed prevented his hearing more than half the conversation.

"...ten days," the nurse said quietly. There was a metallic clink against the end of the bed.

"How long..." his father began, then turned away, making Itachi miss the rest of the sentence.

"Don't be a fool," the nurse replied sharply, and loud enough for Itachi to hear her clearly. "He'll never be a shinobi again."

...

[A/N: This story is probably going to update very slowly because it's pretty hard to write. Also, thanks muchly to my beta, vanelo159!]


	2. Chapter 2: Rock, Paper, Scissors

Chapter 2: Rock-Paper-Scissors

After his father's visit, Itachi wavered in and out of consciousness for a long time. It was hard for him to tell when he was awake and when not, because the darkness remained the same. Sometimes he could hear footsteps or vague conversations, but he didn't care enough to pay attention. His entire world had just shattered, and he was too exhausted to pick up the pieces.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when he finally began to realize what was going on again. There was someone else in the room; trying to sit quietly but struggling in that regard, as they were pacing fitfully. The window had been opened, and a few birds were singing determinedly outside.

"We really wish you'd wake up, you know."

Itachi started at the sudden voice right next to him, but not visibly, as he was fairly sure it would still hurt to move. Of course it would be Shisui. He had never been able to sit still, not even during mission briefings. Itachi tried to speak, to ask for news of Sasuke, but ended up gagging on the tube in his throat.

"Oh! You're awake!" There was a slight grating sound as Shisui pushed his chair back. "Wait just a second, okay? I'll go get the nurse."

Apparently, Shisui's idea of 'getting the nurse' was walking a few steps into the corridor and shouting. It did seem to get results, however, because when Shisui came back he was followed by someone with lighter footsteps and a distinct scent of perfume.

It took the nurse almost half an hour to unhook Itachi enough from the machines that he could sit up against the pillows. After firmly impressing on Shisui the importance that Itachi absolutely not be allowed to get up, she left.

"So..." Shisui began after an awkward pause. "How do you feel?"

Itachi smiled stiffly. "Take a guess," he suggested.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty obvious, isn't it," Shisui said with a nervous laugh. "For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about...what happened."

"Was Sasuke badly hurt?" Itachi asked abruptly. There was a long pause, making him worry still more about what the answer would be.

"Why do you ask that?" Shisui said finally. "Sasuke's fine."

"What? But...that doesn't make sense. He—his chakra was gone." Itachi frowned as he ran through the events of that world-changing afternoon. "Just gone. I thought he must have been badly injured at least, if I couldn't detect him anywhere."

"A search party found him asleep in the woods, about fifty yards away from where Kakashi found you. He's been moping around the compound for days, worrying about you. They don't allow visitors younger than ten at the hospital, and you were a mess, anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah." The chair scraped backwards as Shisui stood again. "They nearly put you down as DOA when Kakashi brought you in. What exactly happened, anyway? Kakashi wouldn't tell me anything, and you've been unconscious all this time—"

"How long?" Itachi interrupted.

"More than two weeks," Shisui replied.

"Is Kakashi-san in the village?" Kakashi might have had a better look at the other than the brief glimpses Itachi had managed to get.

"No, but he's expected back tonight. Is there anything else I can do for you? I have to report for a mission."

Shisui brushed against the bed as he walked past, and Itachi just managed to catch hold of his wrist. "It's permanent, isn't it?...the blindness."

To his surprise, Itachi found he could actually feel Shisui's pulse speeding up as the older boy struggled to reply. "Uh...well, you know, there's always..." he sighed, leaning on the edge of the bed. "Yes. It is."

Itachi had been prepared for this, but actually hearing it was still a shock. "Oh." There didn't seem to be anything else to say.

Shisui shifted uncomfortably and finally started pacing again. "Look, I've got to go," he said after a few minutes. "I'll come back tomorrow, and see if I can sneak Sasuke in." He paused, hesitating as if he wanted to say something more. "'Bye," he said at last. His footsteps crossed the room quickly, and the door closed.

Itachi was alone in the dark again. He had never been afraid of the dark before, but this was different. There would be no end to this, no sunrise, no one to turn on the light in the morning. Just never-ending obscurity and isolation.

Although he tried to put these depressing thoughts out of his head, it was a long time before he could sleep.

It was still dark when he awoke. While he had known this would be the case, it was strange all the same. No one seemed to be around, and there were no birds singing, so he assumed it was still night. Experimentally, he pushed the covers back and sat up on the edge of the bed. That seemed to work all right, so he dropped lightly to the floor.

His intention had been to land in a ninja crouch, but his right leg buckled as soon as his weight landed on it, making him fall awkwardly to the floor. He tried getting up again, but the pain stabbing up his leg with every attempt soon dissuaded him. The button to call for a nurse was out of his reach, so he would be stuck on the floor until someone came in and found him. He hated the thought of being seen in such a weak position, but there was nothing else he could do. Pulling one of the blankets off the bed, he tried to find the least painful position possible and settled down to wait.

"Itachi! Hey, are you okay?"

Itachi jolted awake as someone grabbed his shoulder, instinctively striking back to defend himself. The blow struck empty air as the intruder grabbed his wrist. "Careful!" a familiar voice said. "It's just me."

"Kakashi-san?" Itachi's voice shook, to his great embarrassment, and he took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

"A little cold to be sleeping on the floor, isn't it?" Kakashi asked mildly.

Itachi tried to think of an answer that wouldn't involve admitting his weakness, but before he could reply Kakashi picked him up bodily, ignoring his protests, and deposited him back on the bed. "Now, Shisui said you wanted to speak to me."

While Itachi thought about sulking and refusing to reply, there wouldn't really be any point to that. Kakashi had been trying to help, after all. It wasn't the Jounin's fault that Itachi had been stupid enough to try getting out of bed after being told not to. "Shisui told me that you were the one who found me after the...incident. Did you see—?"

Kakashi might have shrugged. Itachi couldn't tell from the way his weight against the bed shifted, but it was a gesture Kakashi used often. "Not much. He was an Uchiha, but not one I recognized, and he wasn't wearing a village headband. But he had the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Itachi frowned thoughtfully. "No one in the clan has had the Mangekyou for decades. Besides, to get it you...have to..."

The bedsprings squeaked as Kakashi stood. "That's what worries me. I don't think he's nearby anymore, though. He used a strange shunshin technique to get away. I copied it, but I don't want to try it out until I'm sure what it does. Anyway," he continued in a lighter tone, "I need to get out of here before the night nurse comes to check on you. I was late for visiting hours, after all."

He tugged playfully on Itachi's bangs, making him jump, then shunshined away, leaving a familiar buzz of static electricity behind. About two minutes later, the nurse bustled in, rearranged Itachi's blankets, generally fussed over him, and made him take some sleeping pills before bustling out again.

The sleep Itachi fell into was dreamless, to his relief.

The next morning, Itachi had nothing to do but hope Shisui would remember that he had promised to visit. A nurse checked on him every hour or so (she smelled of vanilla), but seemed too busy to do more than ask if he needed anything and dart away again after he said no. She did bring him some porridge for breakfast, but Itachi didn't do much more than poke at it. His fingers wouldn't work quite right, and he eventually he gave up struggling with the spoon.

Maybe Shisui wouldn't come. He probably had better things to do than visit with his blinded, helpless baby cousin, after all.

He was about to give up and try to go back to sleep when they window slid open with a slight creak. "Shisui?" Itachi called hopefully.

"Shhhhh," his cousin whispered back, "we didn't check in."

"We?"

Shisui dropped lightly into the room, followed by three more light little thumps on the tile floor.

"Nii-san!" a familiar, wonderful, beloved voice said, as Sasuke dashed for the bed. It was a little too high for him to climb up without disturbing Itachi, so Shisui picked him up and deposited him next to his brother. "Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm fine," Itachi said quietly, tentatively reaching out to brush Sasuke's forehead.

Sasuke put his arms around Itachi's neck and cuddled against his chest. "I was scared," he whispered. "They wouldn't let me see you." Sasuke still sounded worried, but that was unsurprising considering how Itachi knew he must look.

"Before you get too engrossed in your touching reunion," Shisui interrupted, "I think I should introduce your other guests."

"Yes, what are they doing here?"

"They were playing with Sasuke, and I had to promise to bring them or they'd tell on me. Anyway. This is Sakura," Shisui said, setting another child on the bed beside Sasuke, "And this is Naruto." Another small weight settled on the bed. "Yes, it is," Shisui said, answering Itachi's unspoken question.

So his younger brother was playing with the Kyuubi child. From what Itachi had seen of Uzumaki Naruto before, there could be no harm in that. Naruto was energetic and attention-seeking, but not a bad child. Their father would of course disapprove, but it wasn't as if that was unusual.

Naruto smelled like grass and dirt and, surprisingly enough, ramen. Sakura smelled like flowers and sunshine. Sasuke—Sasuke smelled like home.

There was also a distinct scent of cherry lollipops and some tellingly sticky fingers; Naruto and Sakura were not being quiet because they were little angels.

"I bet you're dying to know what happened to your ANBU position," Shisui said after a minute or so.

Itachi wasn't. Not at all. "I assume it was given to someone else," he replied calmly.

"Yeah, sure, but guess who?"

"Shisui-san, I would really rather not."

Shisui ignored the honorific, which usually meant that Itachi was annoyed with him, and pressed on. "Oh, come on, guess!"

Itachi sighed. "Lynx," he guessed.

"Nope," Shisui replied.

Itachi recognized the tone of his voice. It was the one he used when he had just had a 'brilliant' idea, or when he wanted to surprise someone. He might as well go along with his cousin. "Who, then?"

"Yours truly."

For once, Itachi was completely lost for words. "But you...but...you're not even ANBU!" he finally blurted out.

"I know," Shisui said. "Apparently there's some rule or something that says there always has to be an Uchiha in ANBU." Itachi had not known this but was not at all surprised to hear it. "Nobody really felt like volunteering, you know, so all the top people from the police force played Rock-Paper-Scissors for it."

"And you won." Itachi could guess who the 'top people' Shisui was referring to were; all of them fiercely loyal to the clan. His father would not risk letting his information channel be compromised.

"Yeah." Shisui's voice sounded doubtful. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it, though. But enough about that, I've got to get the kiddies out of here before the nurse comes back."

"But—" Sasuke started to protest.

"Come on, Sasuke, your brother'll be home in a few days."

Somewhat mollified, Sasuke reluctantly allowed Shisui to pick him up and, Itachi assumed, lower him out the window. The other two children followed.

"Was that true, what you just told Sasuke?" Itachi asked, before Shisui could climb out the window.

"I think so," Shisui replied. The window closed behind him.

Itachi wasn't sure what to think about this new development. How could he face his father like this? What could he _do_, now that he was no longer a shinobi?

[A/N: Gah, lots of dialogue this chapter. Necessary dialogue, though.]


	3. Chapter 3: Kagome, Kagome

[A/N: Sorry, Fugaku, you're kind of a jerk in this...but hey, at least you're not dead, right? I promise I'll write that fic where you get to be awesome soon.]

Chapter 3: Kagome, Kagome

Over the next few days, Itachi was rather too busy to ponder his future. A surgeon fitted a brace for his right leg, and soon he was beginning to hobble around on crutches. At first he fell quite often, but it was not long before he had the hang of it.

Even though he could get around now, the nurses still wouldn't let him out of the room, and Shisui did not visit him again. Kakashi dropped in a few times, but only long enough for a brief greeting and farewell. His erstwhile ANBU teammates had flowers delivered (they smelled very nice, and the petals were soft, even if he couldn't tell what color they were), but did not come themselves. Itachi couldn't really blame them; ANBU was usually very busy. They were probably training with Shisui, or off on a mission already. Besides, most shinobi didn't like seeing a teammate in a condition which could easily be theirs if the circumstances were changed. Itachi knew he'd occasionally been reluctant to visit some of his own teammates in the hospital.

He stifled in the little hospital room for another week. Then his father came.

It wasn't much of a visit, really. Itachi's father asked after his health, and Itachi said he was fine, because really, if he couldn't see the obvious there was no point in showing weakness. After that, his father had a brief conversation with the nurse about Itachi's being returned to the clan property and left.

Not "when can he come back," his father had said, but "when can he be returned," as if Itachi were a piece of furniture, or an object, almost. Itachi had expected his father not to pay attention to him—much—now that he was no longer of any use to the clan. After all, he had more important things to do, things which Itachi would no longer be privy to. Still, Itachi had thought he could expect a little sympathy. But that sort of thing had never been his father's strong point; he left those dealings to Mother.

Shisui turned up a short time later, much to Itachi's relief. However, his cousin did not seem to be in much of a mood to chat. He asked curtly whether Itachi had all of his stuff together, to which Itachi replied that he didn't have any 'stuff' at the moment. Shisui didn't reply to this retort, instead taking Itachi's arm and setting off a shunshin that left them both in a different building. Before Itachi could even ask where he was now, Shisui set the crutches down next to him and shunshined away himself.

"I'm blind, not contagious, you know," Itachi muttered sulkily, although he knew Shisui was too far away to hear him now.

As he had been left alone, there was nothing for it but to figure out where he was. Shisui had left him on a neatly-made bed, and the floors were tatami. Hobbling about on the crutches, Itachi noted the location of every piece of furniture, and came to the conclusion that he must be in his own room.

It was a relief to know that his father had not chosen to sequester him in a deserted corner of the compound, but Itachi was still on edge from how different Shisui had been acting. Surely being in ANBU couldn't have changed him this much, this suddenly? It had only been two weeks—granted, a very long two weeks, but that still would have been only time for two ANBU missions, or three at the very most.

Decided to think that over later, Itachi headed over to the dresser, eager to change out of the hospital clothes he'd been in for two weeks. As he rummaged through the drawers, he found himself faced with the problem of getting a shirt on the right way round. He knew that the embroidered fan belonged on the back, but the knowledge and the occurrence were two different things. The crutches didn't make it any easier, either. After five tries, he was finally successful. Luckily, the shorts weren't nearly so hard.

He had just sat down near the closet to attempt to find a pair of sandals when the door slid open. Instinctively trying to get up, Itachi gasped in pain as he put his weight on his injured leg.

"Itachi-kun! Are you all right? Here, let me help you," Mother said all in a rush, her footsteps rustling over the tatami as she hurried towards him.

"I'm fine, Mother, really," Itachi said. This was, of course, a blatant lie, and couldn't really be seen as anything else. "I was trying to find my sandals, and—" a pair of sandals were handed to him before he could even finish the sentence. Itachi couldn't decide whether to be grateful for the help or offended that she thought he couldn't manage by himself.

Mother knelt down next to him. "You were in the hospital for so long," she sighed, gently touching his cheek. "I was afraid that you—" her fingers brushed the bandages covering Itachi's eyes and he flinched, making her break off her sentence. "I'm sorry," she said, finally. "Lunch's almost ready," she continued in a lighter tone. Her heavy skirt rustled as she stood. "Should I bring you some?"

"Yes, please do," Itachi said politely. He wasn't especially hungry, but Mother would only worry if he refused.

Mother's footsteps receded toward the door, which slid open and shut as she passed through. After she was gone, Itachi got the crutches back under him and hobbled over to the bed to lay down. After being completely inactive for two weeks, even slight exertion affected him very quickly. Besides, he didn't really have anything else to do.

About ten minutes later, the door was flung open, startling Itachi out of a sound sleep. "Nii-san! I brought—are you okay?" Sasuke said as he darted in to see Itachi lying on the floor, tangled in the blankets as he struggled to get up.

"Fine," Itachi replied as reassuringly as he could, pulling himself back onto the bed. "What did you want?"

"…Oh, right," Sasuke said after an uncomfortable pause. "Kaa-san made lunch. Uh, here?"

Luckily, Itachi managed to get hold of the tray Sasuke was handing to him on the first try, although some of the broth splashed out of the bowl. The homemade udon smelled wonderful after the bland hospital food. "Thank you, Otouto-chan."

Sasuke mumbled something in reply and hurried out of the room.

Itachi sighed as he listened to his little brother's departing footsteps. Sasuke had looked up to his older brother for so long—the genius, the ANBU agent, the model Uchiha—that he was clearly having trouble getting used to Itachi being vulnerable.

An insistent growl reminded him to stop feeling sorry for himself and eat the food Sasuke had brought. The familiar taste was comforting, and he felt much better after he finished. In fact, he felt well enough that the idea of staying cooped up in his room was quite distasteful.

Listening carefully to make sure there was no one outside the door—if anyone found out he was headed outside he would find himself back in his room in a trice—Itachi cautiously slid it open. He had found that he could manage with only one of the crutches, which was slightly less awkward but still made it hard to get around.

As he had been always getting home late from training and ANBU duties, Itachi knew all the discreet ways of getting out of the house, and made it out of a back door and into the yard without attracting any attention. The maple trees rustled softly in the wind, and the light scent of cherry blossoms was wafting gently through the air as Itachi stepped onto the grass at the back of the house.

He skirted the main courtyard of the compound on his way out towards the River Gate. It was just as noisy as usual with the chatter of off-duty police ninja and housewives clustered around the wells. There was a group of children playing 'Kagome, kagome' nearby as well. Itachi thought he could hear Sasuke's voice with those chanting the rhyme, but wasn't quite sure among all the other sound.

If anyone noticed Itachi—of course they had, he had brushed past several people on his way out—no one said anything, and he didn't run into anyone he knew well.

The River Gate was less commonly used than the other gates in and out of the Uchiha Compound, and was mainly reserved for boat traffic. It led out to a pier jutting into the Naka river, as well as a trail leading along the bank. Even though there was little traffic through it, the River Gate was generally left open to allow the police to react quickly in case of a boat accident or theft.

There was no one there when Itachi arrived, and he slipped out uncontested. The trail outside was more uneven than the cobbled walks inside, but he could manage. He headed up the river, confident that he could find where he wanted to go. He'd been there plenty of times lately, when he just needed to get away and think for a while.

The air was cool by the river, and there was a calm, green sort of scent in it, made up of the water, the rich grass and the thick dirt of the riverbank. Besides his own footsteps and the scraping of the crutch, the only sound was the light rippling of the river water against the bank.

The rippling changed into a louder rushing sound as Itachi neared his destination. The Kegono Falls only fell about thirty-five feet, but as this was past a wicked array of assorted sharp rocks, few people were stupid enough to jump off, no matter how inviting the pool below appeared. During the summer, children would swim in the pool and dare each other to stand under the falls, but it was deserted now.

Just the way Itachi liked it.

It took him a little while to figure out how to get onto his usual vantage point—not that it was really a vantage point, anymore. A large, flat-topped boulder was situated against the near bank, extending almost halfway across the river and jutting slightly out over the falls. Before, Itachi used to come here when he was overwhelmed with ninja duties and let the sound of the falls drown out all his troubles. He certainly had plenty of troubles to drown out now.

On his second try, he succeeded in pulling himself up onto the rock and perching there, hands lightly clasping his knees. He had left the crutch on the grass below. As he sat there, listening to the falling water and feeling the light spray that occasionally drifted up, he began to feel less trapped by his current situation. It was a peaceful place, good for starting afresh.

He didn't realize that he was not alone until he felt a light touch on his shoulder.

"It's me, Itachi," Shisui said in reassurance as Itachi nearly jumped out of his skin. "Are you all right? Everyone's out looking for you."

This was a marked difference from Shisui's behavior earlier, and Itachi wasn't sure what to make of it. "I am…quite all right," he replied, as calmly as he could manage. "Is my father worried?"

"Enough that you should probably come back with me," Shisui replied, taking Itachi by the arm to help him to his feet. Itachi stumbled slightly as he had to put his weight on his bad leg, and Shisui grasped his shoulders before he could fall.

"Thank you," Itachi said. "Shall we go?"

Shisui did not reply, and his grip on Itachi's shoulders tightened until it was almost painful. "Shisui, let go," Itachi said firmly. Shisui still said nothing, and Itachi had to step forward as Shisui pushed him. There was only about two more feet of space, then nothing until the cold water more than thirty feet below. "What are you trying to do, push me over?" Itachi asked, attempting to make his tone light.

Shisui jerked slightly, in surprise, and Itachi realized in shock that that was exactly what his cousin was trying to do.

The sound of the falls would drown out any calls for help, so Itachi would have to save himself. That wasn't going to be easy, however. If he stumbled, or lost track of where he was, he would be done for.

Itachi only had a split second to consider his options before Shisui shoved him sharply, attempting to throw him off the rock. Twisting to the side, Itachi managed not to go over the falls, but the momentum threw him down to the bank below, where he lay breathlessly on the damp grass. He could hear Shisui breathing heavily, still standing on the rock. As he quickly pulled himself into a sitting position, Itachi realized that his crutch was gone from where he had left it—of course it was. Any ninja of Shisui's caliber would have made sure of that. Even with it, Itachi would have been unable to move fast enough to get away.

Rolling out of the way as Shisui jumped down a few seconds later, Itachi attempted to pull himself to his feet but was thrown to the ground when Shisui kicked his bad leg out from under him. Dizzy with the sudden flare of pain and exhausted from the intense exertion, Itachi offered no further resistance when Shisui pinned him to the ground with a knee on his chest.

"I am sorry that this is necessary, little cousin," Shisui whispered. Itachi could feel Shisui's warm breath on his face, and had to force himself not to fight back as Shisui's hand closed around his throat. Struggling would do no good now, and forcing Shisui's hand would only make things worse…and by this point, there was only one way things could get worse.

They seemed to remain there for hours, Itachi struggling to catch his breath past the light constriction. He had never liked being kept in suspense, and this was the worst kind. The only reason he could think of for Shisui's sudden change was ANBU; and he hated to think of what could have happened to effect such a thing. Something was definitely very wrong in Konoha, and he would have to find out what.

If he survived the next few minutes, that is. Itachi was beginning to wish Shisui would make up his mind, whatever the outcome was. Had their situations been reversed, much as Itachi hated to admit it to himself, Shisui would have been at the bottom of the Kegono Falls before even getting a chance to react. A ninja could not afford to hesitate in the moment of truth.

Finally, the grip on Itachi's throat relaxed, then tightened again as Shisui bent even closer. Itachi could not conceal the pained expression that crossed his face as the pressure on his chest increased.

"If you ever tell anyone of this, you will not live another day," Shisui hissed at last. Itachi gasped in the cool air as his cousin released him and stood. So he had been reprieved for now—Itachi had no delusions that Shisui could not succeed in killing him in his current condition, should he so wish it.

Abruptly, Shisui dragged Itachi to his feet and headed back down the trail, pulling Itachi along behind. Without his crutch, Itachi had to use his bad leg and the pain which spiked up it was excruciating. Shisui showed no signs of caring, nor did he slow when Itachi attempted to drag him down to a more manageable pace.

The sound of the falls soon began to fade behind them. Itachi estimated that they had covered about half of the distance back to the River Gate when he heard running footsteps approaching from that direction.

"Shisui-san—ah, you've found him!" a man said. Itachi vaguely recognized the voice, but could not put a face to it.

"Yes," Shisui replied calmly, his tight grip on Itachi's arm a warning to him not to speak. "However, I was almost too late to prevent him from jumping off the Kegono Falls."

Itachi cursed inwardly. Shisui's story would discredit any attempt he made to tell what had really happened. He would have to find out what was going on himself; and he was beginning to get a few ideas as to where to start.

"Do you require any assistance?" the man asked. Itachi thought that perhaps it was one of the police force chuunin.

"I don't think so," Shisui replied. "But if you could tell Fugaku-sama that the search can be called off…?"

The man promptly headed back for the compound at a run. Shisui and Itachi followed at a somewhat slower pace.

"Thought of everything, haven't you?" Itachi said quietly. Shisui started a little at the barbed comment, but did not reply. Perhaps he was already regretting that he had spared his cousin.

Itachi would have to act quickly before Shisui realized just how bad an idea that really was.

…

[A/N: I have a poll up for what story I'm going to start next, please vote!]


	4. Chapter 4: I Spy

[A/N: Sorry it took so absurdly long between updates! I hope you all enjoy this chapter—and that people are still reading :-) This story is now even more AU than it already is what with the revelations about Shisui in chapter 550 or whatever it was, but I've decided I don't mind.]

Chapter 4: I Spy

Itachi knelt meekly on the floor and said nothing as Shisui 'explained' everything to his father. There was little he could have said, in any case. No one would believe that Shisui—chipper, playful Shisui, Itachi's best friend and occasional protector—had tried to kill him. And truly, Shisui's story that Itachi had tried to kill himself was entirely plausible; Itachi actually had considered suicide while in the hospital, albeit briefly and not very seriously. Any number of shinobi who had become similarly disabled had chosen to take the easy way out instead of being forced to rely on others. Itachi could think of three cases in ANBU alone within the last year.

"I see," his father said, after Shisui had finished speaking. "You have my thanks."

Itachi could feel Shisui's footsteps through the tatami floor as he walked softly out of the room. Then he was left alone with his father, exactly what he had been dreading since Shisui had hauled him back.

There was silence for several seconds. Itachi could hear his father's stiff breathing and his own pounding heart.

"I had not expected this from you," his father said, finally breaking the silence. "Actions like this will shame the clan."

Itachi gripped the fabric of his shorts until his knuckles hurt. "My apologies," he murmured, forcing his voice to sound _almost_ sincere.

His father stood, and Itachi held his breath as the footsteps stopped just in front of him. "You are not to leave the compound again."

Itachi nodded obediently. His shoulders were getting stiff from the cramped position he was in, but he didn't want to move right now and attract even more attention.

"Go to your room now," his father ordered abruptly, starting to walk away, "and don't cause us any more trouble."

Itachi complied without protest. He was completely exhausted from the fight and the walk back to the village, and his head ached terribly. All he wanted was to sleep and sleep, and wake up with his eyes and his friends and only the memory of a bad dream.

Of course, this didn't happen, but the rest replenished his strength and relieved the throbbing pain in his head and the phantom lights he thought he was seeing. He knew that he _couldn't_ be seeing anything, it was all in his head and there were bandages covering where his eyes had been anyway, but it was so tantalizing…

He wasn't sure what time it was when he awoke. It didn't matter in any case, as he had nothing to do. All the weapons had been removed from his room, and his books hardly did him any good now. Honestly, he had little to do besides sleep, and he hated feeling so useless.

With who-knew-how-much empty time stretching before him, Itachi took the opportunity to empty out his dresser and go over each and every item until he was sure he could identify them by feel. It wasn't very interesting, but at least it kept his mind off other things.

He was engaged in re-folding the items when the door to his room opened. He half-turned, worried that it might be his father again, but relaxed as he felt the light footsteps vibrating the tatami beneath him. "Otouto-chan. Hello."

"Nii-san?" Sasuke sounded sleepy and a little confused. "What're you doing? It's awfully late."

"Is it? I couldn't tell."

"Oh, right. Um…can I…help you?" There was uncomfortable pause before Sasuke said the last phrase. Itachi couldn't remember ever needing Sasuke's help; usually it was the other way around, Sasuke begging for his attention or assistance.

Itachi moved a jumbled pile of sweaters aside so Sasuke could kneel down beside him. They worked for a little while in silence, Itachi enjoying his brother's bright presence.

"Sasuke-chan?" he said finally, forcing the next words out. "Do you know where Shisui-san is?"

"Huh?" Sasuke added another item to the pile of folded clothes before replying. "He went home a while ago. Are you okay? Kaa-san said you almost fell in the river."

"I'm quite all right. Now, we were talking about Shisui-san…" An interrogation tactic this completely obvious would have been a total failure against anyone else, but Sasuke still trusted his older brother utterly.

"I _told_ you, he went home ages ago," Sasuke replied, a little sulkily since Itachi hadn't answered his question. "He said something about a mission tomorrow. There, these are all that's left," he continued, handing Itachi a small pile of shirts to put in the drawer with the rest. "I should go back to bed now…"

"Is it that late?" Itachi's sleep patterns had been thrown off entirely by the blindness, it seemed.

"It's…almost midnight, I think," Sasuke replied as he stood up. "I keep getting the hands on the clock mixed up. Do you want me to turn the light off?"

Itachi really hadn't thought to check whether the light was on or not. Of course, if Sasuke had been able to find his way around in here, it must be. "I suppose so. Thank you, Otouto-chan."

After making sure all the clothes were back in the drawers, Itachi lay down, but didn't sleep. He had a plan to make.

…

The next day, Itachi rose with new determination. He had to find out what Shisui was up to and find some way to prevent it before it was too late.

With some discreet probing, he was able to ascertain from Sasuke that Shisui had left Konoha that morning, and was expected to be gone until the day after tomorrow. Itachi's father was out of the compound, seeing to some police business. Unless he had had a sudden change in his habits, there was a high likelihood that he would not return to the compound until the next morning.

Things actually seemed to be going Itachi's way for once. Of course, he couldn't expect that to last, so he would have to act quickly.

After lunch—a highly uncomfortable affair; his father had apparently told Mother the same story Shisui had told him, and she fussed over him the entire time—Itachi convinced Sasuke to come for a walk with him.

As they walked about the compound, Sasuke diligently provided a running commentary of where everything was and who was there, which was exactly what Itachi had been hoping for. The autumn festival was approaching quickly, and almost all of the clan was gathered in the Konoha compound.

Itachi found it very frustrating how easily worn out he was after the incident; he had intended to go into action right away, but with Sasuke asking if he was _sure_ he was all right, he decided it would be wiser to take the chance to rest. He could move more easily at night, in any case.

It seemed to take much longer to get back to the house than it had to get to the outskirts of the compound, even though they took a more direct way back. Just one more reminder of how far he had fallen, Itachi thought.

Supper was marginally better than lunch had been, mostly because Mother had been taking care of the house all day and was therefore too tired to fuss much, which meant Itachi had a chance to eat in peace and retreat to his room. His father being gone helped as well.

Setting the alarm clock by feel was more difficult than he had thought it would be (luckily for him it was an analog clock), but he finally thought he had it. If it failed to go off at the correct time, everything would be ruined, but Itachi put those thoughts out of his head and hid the clock under his pillow.

…

Itachi woke with a start, and wasted a few seconds trying to see where he was before he remembered again. He could see things in his dreams, which only made it worse when he woke up.

Fumbling under the pillow, he finally managed to shut of the alarm clock, then slipped out of his room as quietly as he could. No one seemed to be about, as he was quite sure he would have otherwise found himself shut up in his room again without delay, and by the slight drop in temperature he concluded that it was night.

Success. Now for Part 2.

Sasuke's room was the next down the hall, but knowing that wasn't everything, as it was several moments before Itachi's hand lit on the edge of the sliding door.

"Otouto-chan?" he whispered, edging into the room.

Sasuke stirred and mumbled something sleepily, then bolted out of bed and ran over to the door. "Nii-san? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Sshh," Itachi whispered, groping for Sasuke's hand. "Quiet. I have to do something important, and I need you to help me."

"In the middle of the—" Sasuke started to protest, but Itachi put a hand over his mouth (he was familiar enough with his brother to do this even blind) before he could wake anyone.

"Be quiet," he said in the firm tones he had formerly used with recalcitrant subordinates. "This could be dangerous, and I need you to do exactly as I say. All right?"

Sasuke nodded, and Itachi removed his hand. "Follow me."

Itachi hated taking his little brother into danger like this, but he had no choice if he wanted to find out what was going on. He had a feeling that if Shisui was willing to kill his closest friend—and how interesting that those happened to be the conditions for gaining the Mangekyou Sharingan!—there was something going on that concerned more than just him. If ANBU was involved then possibly it could have something to do with the whole clan, and wouldn't that be a mess. Things were getting worse between the clan and the village, but surely they couldn't have gotten bad enough for this sort of thing; not yet, anyway.

He and Sasuke made it out of the house without alerting anyone. Navigating through the presumably darkened Uchiha compound was just as easy to Itachi as it was in the daytime, although he was still struggling a bit with the brace, and Sasuke could see well enough in the dark to guide him around trouble spots.

Shisui's house was quiet as they approached. Itachi knew it would be empty, as Shisui's mother and sisters stayed at another relative's house when Shisui was away on missions, but there was always the chance that Shisui had equipped it with traps before he left. However, Itachi knew of one spot Shisui could possibly have overlooked.

Carefully feeling his way around the corner of the house to the wall he knew bordered Shisui's room, Itachi started feeling his way along the lower border of the frame.

"What are you doing, Nii-san?" Sasuke whispered, his voice coming from a point directly over Itachi's shoulder.

"Trying to find something," Itachi replied. He should have found it by now, if Shisui hadn't covered it over. "There should be a little cross scratched down here somewhere."

"You mean like here?" Sasuke asked after a few seconds. Presumably he was pointing at something, but Itachi had no idea where to feel.

"Where, Otouto-chan?" Itachi asked mildly.

Sasuke's breath caught sharply, and Itachi couldn't help feeling sorry for having to again remind the child that his strong, perfect brother would never be like that again.

"Um," Sasuke finally said shakily, tentatively taking Itachi's hand and moving it about eight inches to the left, "it's over here."

"Perfect," Itachi whispered, tracing the cross with one finger (vertically, then right-to-left) before pressing in the center. There was a muffled click and half the panel slid up and back on a hidden track. He and Shisui had built the secret door several years ago during a lazy afternoon when the Academy had let out early. They were the only two to know about it, so Itachi felt fairly safe as he ushered Sasuke through the opening and crawled in himself. They hadn't used it in years and it was nearly too small for Itachi; he wasn't sure if it would even be possible for Shisui to use it now. He didn't think Shisui would have exactly forgotten about it, but he probably would have neglected to take measures to secure it.

"Now what, Nii-san?" Sasuke asked, sounding confused. "What's so dangerous about being in Shisui-san's house?"

"That's what we're here to find out," Itachi said grimly.

[A/N: Between last chapter and this chapter I wrote an entire fic with Fugaku as the protagonist so it's hard for me to go back to this characterization. Still, I think I can get this story going pretty well if I manage to stop forgetting about it all the time.]


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